Toddler will not eat fruit and veg

[Motherofmonsters]

DS3 has recently stopped eating fruit and veg. He will only eat carrots, sweetcorn and sometimes potato.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can encourage him. I've been putting a little bit on his plate ie. One piece of cucumber but he just gives it to me.

He won't eat anything tomato based so I can't blend it up in pasta sauce. He will eat pesto though.

He mostly lives on meat and dairy along with 'snacks' which is mostly ice poles and his sisters weaning snacks.

Blended fruit mix with yogurt makes good ice lollies, or smoothies work well too (don't overdo it though, it's not great for teeth). Otherwise, maybe try a few different types of fruit (eg. If you normally give apples and oranges, try berries or peaches).

How about a mix of carrots and cucumber sticks with a tasty dip, once he's finished the carrot he might move on to cucumber if he's enjoying the dip.

God it’s hard work the food thing isn’t it... I have a 4 yo who will pretty much ONLY eat fruit and veg...

Sounds like a stealth boast but it’s actually a huge headache making sure he’s getting enough fat, calcium... and that he’s full! Costs me a fortune in fruit every week...

No advice, just sympathy.

Actually just remembered, if you have time you can cut fun shapes out a slices of cucumber, carrots and peppers with small biscuits cutters. I didn't do it often because of the faff, but DS loved dinosaur salad.

Any chance he is teething? Sometimes acidic fruits sting.

Did you try making it more fun - my DD liked having her veg arranged in the shape of a face, and then I'd say "can you eat up all the hair" and so on. Or, put the veg underneath little upside down pots and challenge him to find a pot with yellow vegetables, etc etc. Or give him a little spoon and let him pretend to feed his favourite teddy, then see if he will feed himself.

My DS, on the other hand, loves veg smothered in any kind of garlicky sauce.

My DS also currently loves tinned pineapple in juice and tinned peaches in juice, or fruit salad, which are juicy and sweet, rather than risking getting something unexpectedly sour.

If he eats pesto, you can blend peas, spinach and broccoli into that....

I actually wrote an essay about fussy eating for a masters I'm doing with the OU, which means I read loads of peer reviewed articles on the subject from medical, psychological and sociological backgrounds. On a very basic level, the conclusion is to keep offering the veg and do not cook an alternative if they don't eat dinner. Do not use food as reward or bribe (if you eat the broccoli you can have a pudding etc), because that's more likely to cause the child to have negative and therefore unforgettably bad experience with the food and less likely to try it again. Ditto never force feed. You Eating the same food at same time as child helps as does loads of praise when they try it. Do not make a big thing out of it or stress out. Keep offering and Eventually they will eat it. I know this could cause food wastage but only give them a little bit and/or use something you don't mind reheating and eating yourself later. I'm a childminder and I will always offer something even if I know one child doesn't like it. When they see peers or me eating it they will often try it. Try offering it cooked in different ways and make sure it's seasoned enough. Make sure they don't over snack so that they are properly hungry at mealtimes... this is why it's important never to force feed or bribe to eat as you are overriding their natural biological function that stops them eating if not hungry. Finally leave the plate out whilst you are cleaning the kitchen and under the table etc and you might find they come back to it. My mindees do this all the time.

Frozen banana lollies! Tell him it’s ice cream also maybe try fruit with a bit of yoghurt?

Thanks everyone, lots of things to try